TL&CC Q&A: Meghan Boledovich, forager at PRINT., New York, USA

07 March 2019

For the past half-decade, Meghan Boledovich has held the unique job title of 'forager'. While in some people’s minds this may conjure up ideas of a person searching the woods for wild mushrooms, Meghan’s current role is much more expansive – just as an accurate dictionary definition reads: “(of a person or animal) who searches widely for food or provisions.”•

What is the purest thing you have ever tasted?
Oysters from Arcachon, France.

What is the best thing you can do with your hands?
Plant and take care of our rooftop garden.

What was your first experience with sustainable eating?
Helping bring out scraps to my parents’ compost pile and helping harvest from their vegetable garden.

What do you love most about what you do?
The people I get to meet and work with.

What’s the best thing you’ve ever been taught?
How to cook.

Is there anything you don’t particularly care to eat?
Fried sea anemones.

When was the last time you ate out, and where?
Sofra, a Turkish restaurant in Sunnyside, Queens.

What are your favourite books or cookbooks?The Two Fat Ladies Ride Again (Jennifer Paterson and Clarissa Dickson Wright).

What do you make from scratch?
Almost everything except bread and some condiments.

What would you be doing if you weren’t doing what you are doing?
Travelling.

How do you like to spend your day off?
Cooking with friends or going out to eat somewhere interesting, usually in Queens.

Can you tell us something we don’t know about you?
I am a major Kansas basketball fan (rock chalk)!

If you could eat only one thing today, what would it be?
The kimchi tofu stew I made for lunch.

What do you see when you think of the cuisine of your own country?
American food at its core can be a bit boring, but the cuisines of all the other cultures in America make it interesting.

Which producer or supplier really brightens your day?
Tama of Meadows and More. She is a forager with a real passion for what she does, the land she is stewarding, and the flavours she is bringing forth with her wild edibles.

Which talent would you most like to have?
Being able to speak many languages fluently (right now I just have English and French).

What do you think the food of the future will look like?
Much more automated and focused on environmental impact.

Do you have a motto or mantra?
I have a transcendental meditation mantra, but I’m not allowed to share it!

What is your number one sustainability tip or trick?
Compost! Instead of buying expensive compostable bags I use paper bags, which are also compostable.